> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Brooklyn boy finds a home
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/brooklyn-boy-finds-a-home/
- Published: 2007-07-02T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:12:16.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Government & Politics, Ocean Park, #archive-import

If it weren’t for the birth of his son, Ocean Park Association President and Recreation and Parks Commissioner Ted Winterer would have most likely run for City Council. He decided against it last year because of the time it takes to run a convincing campaign, as well as sit on the dais during the notoriously long council meetings.

“When you have children, you start thinking more about the world around you and how you want the best for them,” Winterer, 50, said in an interview last week outside the Edgemar Center for the Arts, located just a few blocks from the modest, 1922 bungalow he shares with his wife, Beck Taylor, a former set designer, their two children, 5-year-old Eleanor, and one-year-old Steele, and their “mut” Felix.

“Once you have kids, your priorities change,” Winterer, a filmmaker, added. “You see things that are right and things that need to improve… When I decided to run for City Council, my son was only 3 months old at the time and in talking with people who were aware of the demands of campaigning, it seemed best to put family first. I just thought that I couldn’t live if I neglected my children. The issues will be there, and I’ll have the rest of my life to try and solve them. But if I neglect my children, I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.

“I probably would have run as an independent, struggled to raise money and lost,” Winterer said with a smile, not naive to the fact that special interest groups have taken hold in Santa Monica, wielding power over the electoral process.

When asked if he’d consider running again, Winterer fielded the question like a seasoned politico. He wouldn’t say no, and wouldn’t say yes, but instead left it open to interpretation.

Chances are he’ll lean towards the latter.

Instead of running for the council,Winterer, a New York City native, has committed himself fully to his family and his duties as president of OPA and the commission.He’s certainly got his hands full, what with two young children at home, a Fourth of July parade to help plan and a contentious dog park to evaluate and make recommendations to the council as to whether or not Mar Vista residents and their pups should be allowed to use it.

“I’m usually at Peet’s (coffee shop) two times a day,”Winterer said.“With two younger children at home, you rarely get enough sleep.”

Winterer’s journey to Santa Monica began in Brooklyn 50 years ago. He was born in the borough before moving to Manhattan, where he admits he was a little bit eccentric when it came to his love for sports, particularly soccer, which he still plays regularly in a 30 and over league. As a kid, Winterer would cross country ski

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 2, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)